Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

heron

/ˈhɛɹən/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.09 in modern English

Syllables: heron
IPA: /ˈhɛɹən/

8

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any long-legged, long-necked wading bird of the family Ardeidae.

name

name

A census-designated place in Sanders County, Montana, United States.

Etymology

From Middle English heron, heroun, heiron, from Anglo-Norman heiron, from Medieval Latin hairō, from Frankish and Proto-West Germanic *hraigrō, from Proto-Germanic *haigrô (compare Swedish häger and Danish hejre), dissimilation of *hraigrô (compare Old English hrāgra, Dutch reiger, German Reiher), from imitative Proto-Indo-European *(s)kreik-, *(s)kreig- (“to screech, creak”) (compare Welsh crëyr (“heron”), Ancient Greek κρίζω (krízō, “to creak, screech”). Compare also egret from the same Germanic etymon.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: heron, heiron, hairō, -, *hraigrō, *haigrô

Inflected Forms

herons (plural)

Derived Forms

heronlike heronry heronsbill

Phrases

American night heron black-crowned night heron great blue heron great white heron green heron grey heron Herons Creek Japanese night heron

Frequently Paired Words

egret bittern crane heronsew stork Martins Heron

Rhymes With

aaron karen mclaren karan aron theron herron aran charon perron farron farren

Questions

How do you pronounce heron?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɛɹən/.
What does heron mean?: Any long-legged, long-necked wading bird of the family Ardeidae.
Where does heron come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce heron

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “heron”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈhɛɹən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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